.eight. 

"You don't know why I'm being hunted, do you?"

When Michael told her he wasn't aware why she was being hunted, she quickly grabbed his hand and led him to the local library, where she knew she would find the information they needed. The Historical Library of Montreal, which had been open since the early beginnings of settlements in the country. They entered the building and Hazel led him to a staircase on the left that led down to an underground floor.

The staircase led to a long hallway which split to the left and to the right. On the walls were paintings depicting important historical events, while others were portraits of important people. Hazel went to the right, to a long hallway and stopped at the last door, just before reaching the emergency exit.

It was labeled, Historical Beginnings of Canada.

It was locked with a code needed to enter that she punched into the number pad. A small light flashed green and the door opened before them. Hazel smiled, pulling him into the room. It was a fairly small room with bookshelves filled with old books.

"My family is the oldest family in this town." She explained, letting go of his hand and walking to one side of the room where she picked out one of the books. "We're one of the founding families in Montreal, so I have access to this room whenever I please."

"And what exactly is in this room?" Michael asked.

She lifted the book for him to see, it was labeled; The Quimbys.

Hazel gestured to a small desk with two chairs in front of it and they boy sat down. She opened the old book to reveal an old map of the new world.

"In the past, European nations were out to take over as much of the world as they could. France was one of those nations. Present day Montreal was inhabited by Native people until the French established a colony in 1642. By 1760, this territory was surrendered to the British who were led by my ancestor; Jack Quimby." She started, her fingers running over the rough paper where a map had been drawn hundreds of years before in black ink. "When I was small, I always heard legends about him and how he was able to take this land from the French. They say he made a pact with the dead, in which they would grant him and his family supernatural powers that he could use to take the land and in exchange, he would have to sacrifice his first son."

Michael listened to the story in awe. Everything she was saying sounded like it was something out of a fantasy book or maybe even a scary story. And he knew he wouldn't believe any of it if he didn't know about shifters. "And did he kill his son?" Michael wondered.

Hazel shook her head. "He didn't. And the dead are always watching, they were thirsty for blood. They were furious. So they granted another group of people these powers. These were people who had no one, they would have nothing to lose in exchange for these powers. They were the first hunters." She flipped the pages until she found what she was looking for. It was an old photograph of a group of boys in their late teen years. They looked like their were practicing with using their powers. "This is my dad with his brothers and cousins. After almost three hundred years, the blood line has expanded as Quimbys moved away and married into other families. Still, my brother and I are the only two remaining from the original direct bloodline of the first shifter. And though only a male can pass on the shifter gene, the hunter needs to kill us both to end it all."

"To end what?" Michael asked.

"When the hunters were given their powers, they were told that after the last original member of my family dies...everyone who currently exists in this world with special abilities will become just a normal human." She replied.

So that's why Arthur wants her dead, Michael thought in his mind.

"Who's Arthur?" The blue eyed girl asked and Michael was reminded that she had the ability to listen in on his thoughts.

With a sigh, the white haired boy admitted. "My father, he's leader of the hunters."

Its not like he would be able to hide it from her anyway. The beautiful dark haired girl's expression dropped into a frown. "Oh...so, I'm sure you would prefer to be loyal to your dad and the rest of the hunters."

Michael shook his head. "My dad and I have some issues...Besides, I'm not willing to lose my powers. Being a human seems boring."

The two were silent for a few moments until the loud ringing of Michael's cellphone filled the air. He whipped his phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID to see he had a call from Rocky. He gestured tor Hazel to remain quiet while he took the call. "What is it, Rocky?" He asked his hunter collegue.

Immediately, the French-Canadian half yelled into the phone. "I hate you and I hate England!"

And that was all he said before hanging up.

She watched Michael bite his lip before his mind became a confusing jumble of quick thoughts and the beginnings of plans. There was a recurring thought in his mind that gave her an idea as to what he wanted to do.

Hazel eyed him suspiciously. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"I don't want to lose my powers." He stated simply. "I don't know what Arthur's fucking thinking. But let them search for you in London. I have a lot of money. I can hide you somewhere they'll never think to look. Trust me, I know my people."

"How do I know you're being honest?" She wondered.

"There is no way I can hide something from you." He reminded. "But you need to decide now because I'm sure it won't be long before Rocky realizes you're not in London."

Hazel returned to her house while Michael went to his abandoned building. There, he gathered all his money in a luggage. He covered it all up with his few belongings and then he destroyed his cellphone. He was sure it had a small tracking chip that Arthur could use to find him. Besides his few belongings, his Diamond Rose was the only other thing he took with him.

He told Hazel to meet him at their airport if she decided to go with him. 

If in the end she didn't want to leave and spend the rest of her life at risk, he told her she should just not show up.

.

.

.

.

At Hazel's house, she was in her bedroom, quickly packing up her things. It hurt to leave her mother behind, but she was sure her mother was safe. She wasn't a shifter and knew nothing about them. She was just a normal human. 

She packed few things in a small luggage. Whatever she might need in this new place she knew she could buy it later.

It was six in the afternoon and Michael told her to be there at eight if she wanted to leave with him. Hazel realized it was crazy of her to trust in a guy she had just met, especially one who was a shifter, but she was sure he was sincere. She could hear his thoughts and would immediately know if he were lying to her. She also knew that if he wanted to kill her, he could have done it by now.

The dark haired girl was on her way out the front door, having said goodbye to her mother and telling her she wanted to return to England with her father's family. When she opened the door, she saw a twenty-one year old young man standing on the porch.

Hazel hadn't seen him in almost over three years.

A smile spread across his face when he saw the young girl before him. Hazel dropped the luggage at her side and threw her slender arms around the dark haired boy she grew up with. "Jack!" She cried, hugging him tight.

He lifted her off the ground slightly and said, "I missed you, Haze."

"Oh Jack..." She sighed as they pulled away.

The young man took one look at her, then at the luggage besides her. His face contorted in confusion as he asked her, "On your way out?"

She nodded her head, remembering she was to leave with the hunter later that day. "Yeah. I can't stay here, and you can't either." She warned him. "The hunters are looking for us and they won't rest until we're dead."

-

i know this one might be a tiny bit confusing.

but here's the main jist of it all: basically people who are descendants of the original family like hazel and her brother jack, must be killed in order for all the other ones to lose their powers.

and michael obviously doesn't want that. and also there's the fact that he wouldn't be able to kill her anyway because she reminds him of harley. 

so i hope you all like the new update.

from now on, the updates won't be as often because the last few chapters were pre-written.

so give this a nice vote and comment. 

thank you.

i love you.

-clary xx